General

On the 15th local time, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development issued the "2021 Trade and Development Report". The report pointed out that compared with most countries, China recovered earlier and stronger in the import and export sector. In the first half of this year, China’s monthly trade flows have been more than 10% higher than the level before the epidemic; East Asia’s economy will be the most resilient in 2020, and it is expected that East Asia’s economic growth will reach 6.7% in 2021, mainly driven by China.

Recently, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Russia and other neighboring countries have successively released the latest foreign trade data. The data shows that although the epidemic situation in various countries continues, and the tension in the supply chain such as logistics has not been alleviated, the imports and exports of most countries have shown a momentum of rapid growth.

While soberly aware of the many uncertain, unstable and unbalanced factors in the development of foreign trade, foreign trade companies should also maintain confidence in the continued recovery of the world economy and the recovery of growth in the international market.

Japan

Export growth for six consecutive months

According to the latest data from Japan’s Ministry of Finance, exports in August increased by 26.2% year-on-year, achieving double-digit growth for the sixth consecutive month. This was mainly driven by strong demand for chip manufacturing equipment, but the growth rate slowed down from the previous month, mainly due to Asia. The impact of the resurgence of the new crown epidemic in various places has deepened. Japan's exports to China in August increased by 12.6% year-on-year, and the growth was mainly driven by exports of chemicals and semiconductor components.

In the same period, Japan's imports increased by 44.7%, and a trade deficit of 635.4 billion yen was recorded.

South Korea

Exports in August hit the highest in the same month of the previous year

According to Yonhap News Agency, September data from the Ministry of Trade of South Korea showed that thanks to the strong demand for chips and automobiles, South Korea’s exports in August reached 53.2 billion U.S. dollars, the highest in the same month of the previous year, with a year-on-year increase of 34.9%. This is the 10th consecutive month that South Korea’s exports have maintained a growth trend, and it has also maintained a double-digit growth rate for 6 consecutive months.

In August, South Korea’s imports increased by 44% to US$51.5 billion. South Korea’s trade surplus in August was US$1.67 billion. This is the 16th consecutive month that South Korea has achieved a trade surplus.

India

Exports in August increased by 40% year-on-year

According to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on the 14th, India’s exports in August reached 33.28 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 45.76% compared with 22.83 billion U.S. dollars in the same period last year, and an increase of 28.03% compared with 25.99 billion U.S. dollars in August 2019. In August, India imported 47.09 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 51.72% compared with 31.03 billion U.S. dollars in the same period last year. This is an increase of 18.15% compared with the US$3.985 billion in August 2019.

Vietnam

Vietnam's total imports and exports in the first eight months increased by 27.2% year-on-year

According to the latest data released by the General Administration of Customs of Vietnam, in the first eight months of 2021, Vietnam’s total import and export volume was approximately 428.82 billion U.S. dollars, a year-on-year increase of 27.2%. Among them, exports were US$212.55 billion, a year-on-year increase of 21.2%, and imports were US$216.27 billion, a year-on-year increase of 33.8%. The trade deficit was 3.71 billion U.S. dollars (13.69 billion U.S. dollars in the same period in 2020).

According to the latest report of the Vietnam News Agency on September 7, the latest data from the Vietnam Ministry of Industry and Trade show that in August this year, Vietnam’s total exports were 26.2 billion U.S. dollars (about 169.1 billion yuan), a decrease of 6% from the previous month. However, import and export activity recovered strongly in the second half of August. Among them, in the second half of August (August 16 to 31), the import and export volume reached 30.49 billion U.S. dollars (average over 2 billion U.S. dollars per day), a substantial increase of 26.5% (an increase of 6.39 billion U.S. dollars) compared with the first half of August.

Indonesia

Export volume in August hit a 10-year high

According to China News Agency, Indonesia’s National Bureau of Statistics, Yuwono, reported that the country’s exports in August reached 21.42 billion US dollars, an increase of 20.95% from July and a year-on-year increase of 64.10%, setting a record for the highest single-month export in 10 years. The reason for the sharp increase in exports in August was the rise in global commodity prices including palm oil and coal.

From January to August this year, Indonesia’s cumulative export value was US$142.01 billion, a year-on-year increase of 37.77%.

Thailand

The prospects for further acceleration of exports are bright

According to Thailand’s China Daily, Thailand’s export growth rate remained unchanged. In July, exports rose by 20.27%. The cumulative increase in the first seven months exceeded 16%. The Ministry of Commerce maintained the goal of 4% increase in exports for the whole year of 2021. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce Zhu Lin stated , Worrying about the cluster epidemic in manufacturing factories, which will affect export performance in the third quarter. At the same time, the Thai Institute of Industry stated that if the export industry is protected from the epidemic, production and exports are not interrupted, and the shortage of raw materials is avoided, Thai exports will grow further. The global economic recovery is expected to boost Thailand’s export growth this year. At present, Thailand's exports are still growing, and import and export trade is a key factor to promote Thailand's economy this year.

Malaysia

The foreign trade data in July is the highest increase in a single month

According to data from the Department of Statistics of East Asia and Malaysia, in July 2021, Malaysia’s exports increased by 5% year-on-year to 97.3 billion ringgit, which has been increasing for 11 consecutive months since September last year; imports increased by 24% year-on-year to 836. Billion ringgits; total trade increased by 13% year-on-year to 181 billion ringgits; trade surplus fell 45.8% to 13.7 billion ringgits. The July trade, export and import data all recorded the highest monthly increase.

Singapore

Non-oil exports increase year-on-year for the eighth consecutive month

According to the July foreign trade data from the Enterprise Development Board of Singapore, Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) continued to grow at double digits, rising 12.7% year-on-year in July, but fell 0.9% month-on-month. This is the eighth consecutive month that non-oil domestic exports have increased year-on-year. Although the year-on-year growth rate in July was lower than the 15.9% in June, it was still slightly higher than the 12% that Bloomberg surveyed on economists. On a seasonally adjusted basis, non-oil domestic exports fell 0.9% month-on-month to S$16.1 billion in July.

Cambodia

The export of agricultural products in the first 8 months soared by nearly 90% year-on-year

The latest report of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Cambodia shows that in the first eight months of this year, Cambodia’s agricultural exports were 5.54 million tons, an increase of 89.7% from 2.92 million tons in the same period last year. From January to August this year, Cambodia’s agricultural products were exported to 66 countries and regions, with a total export revenue of US$3.23 billion. The main export agricultural products include rice, rubber, cassava, mango, banana, pepper, cashew, corn, palm oil and tobacco.

Laos

China continues to be the largest export destination

The Lao People’s Daily reported that in August 2021, Laos’ foreign trade totaled US$880 million, of which exports were US$428 million, imports were US$452 million, and the trade deficit was US$24 million. Gold chains, bananas, rubber, etc. are the main export commodities; diesel, vehicles, machinery and equipment are the main imported commodities. In addition, the top three export destinations are China, Vietnam and Thailand.

Russia

Foreign trade surplus in July hit a record high

According to data from the General Administration of Customs of Russia, Russia’s foreign trade surplus from January to July increased by 1.6 times year-on-year to 95.5 billion U.S. dollars, of which the surplus in July increased by 27% from June to 23.19 billion U.S. dollars, a record high. According to data from the Central Bank of Russia, the monthly foreign trade surplus exceeded US$20 billion only three times in history (December 2011, January and February 2012). From January to July, Russia's foreign trade volume increased by 34.3% year-on-year, reaching 420.8 billion U.S. dollars.

Kazakhstan

Achieved a trade surplus of 10.3 billion US dollars from January to July

Kazakhstan’s Minister of National Economy Ilgaliev stated that from January to July 2021, the total value of Kazakhstan’s imports and exports of goods was 53.7 billion U.S. dollars, a year-on-year increase of 7.4%. Among them, exports were 32 billion U.S. dollars, imports 21.7 billion U.S. dollars, and a trade surplus of 10.3 billion U.S. dollars. Exports of manufactured goods reached 10.4 billion U.S. dollars, a year-on-year increase of 23.4%.

Uzbekistan

From January to July, the volume of foreign trade increased by 10.1% year-on-year

According to the website of the National Statistics Committee of Uzbekistan, from January to July 2021, Uzbek’s foreign trade volume was 21.564 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 10.1% year-on-year. Among them, Uzbekistan’s exports were about 8.118 billion U.S. dollars, down 2%, and imports exceeded 13.446 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 11.9%. The trade deficit was 5.328 billion U.S. dollars.

Iran

Non-oil trade increased by 38% year-on-year in the past 5 months

According to the Iranian General Administration of Customs, Iran’s non-oil trade volume reached US$34 billion during the five-month period from March 21 to August 22, 2021, a year-on-year increase of 38%. The main export destinations of Iranian non-oil products are China, Iraq, the UAE, Turkey and Afghanistan.

Mongolia

The total foreign trade in the first 7 months increased by nearly 30% year-on-year

Mongolia’s "ikon.mn" website recently reported that in the first July of 2021, Mongolia’s foreign trade totaled 8.6 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 1.8 billion U.S. dollars over the same period last year (an increase of 27.5%). Among them, the total export value was 4.7 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 953 million U.S. dollars over the same period last year (an increase of 25.2%), and the total import volume was 3.8 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 896.1 million U.S. dollars over the same period last year (an increase of 30.5%).